Informations

Newsletter n° 125 [ENG]

JUSTICE WAS DONE TO THE 9 CITIZENS WHO OPPOSE THE BASE TOLIARA ILMENITE MINING PROJECT IN THE DISTRICT OF TOLIARA II

Nine inhabitants of Benetse, Ampototse and Tsiafanoke villages had been arrested on 2 May 2019 and detained in preventive detention since 9 May 2019 because of their participation in the protest against the Base Toliara Ilmenite mining project at these villages carried out together on April 17, 2019. The trial of these 9 citizens mentioned below took place on Friday, May 24, 2019 at the Court of Fianarantsoa :

The Court of Fianarantsoa deliberated on this case on June 13, 2019, and decided

to acquit all defendants for lack of evidence on the charges of destruction of movable property and arson ;

to condemn them to 6-month suspended jail sentence for the charge of unarmed gathering without authorization ;

to dismiss the plaintiff’s claim for damages in the amount of one billion Ariary.

The undersigned civil society organizations welcome this judgment which clearly demonstrates the respect of the rights of the nine detainees to fair and impartial justice, and the genuine recognition of the fundamental rights and freedoms granted to them by the international human rights conventions that Madagascar has ratified, in particular the right to defend their livelihoods, their lands and the national natural heritage.

We express our gratitude and profound respect to the nine patriots for their courage and determination to defend the natural capital of their region and the rights of communities to their ancestral lands.

We call on the competent authorities to take note of the decision of the Tribunal, and to satisfy without further delay the legitimate demands of the many inhabitants of the Toliara II district for the termination of the ilmenite extraction project Base Toliara.